By Christian Malone
The Valdosta Daily Times
ADEL — Cook High’s football team is in the third round of the state playoffs, and preparing to play the defending state champions.
Cook (7-5) travels to two-time defending Class AA state champion Buford (11-1) on Friday.
This is the third straight year that Cook entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed out of Region 1-AA, then upset a region champion in the first round of the playoffs. In 2007, the Hornets knocked off Swainsboro, 42-27, then won their next two games as well (21-0 over Dodge County and 34-20 over Greater Atlanta Christian), and made a Cinderella run to the state semifinals. In 2008, they beat Appling County, 26-10, and made it to the second round. This season, Cook beat Northeast Macon, 28-14, in the first round, then knocked off Appling last week, 29-21.
Buford head coach Jess Simpson is impressed with Cook.
“Their speed of play is nothing like we’ve been used to. They play at a very fast pace, and they’re very physical. Our kids know what we’re in for,” Simpson said. “I would be worried about (people getting too caught up in Cook’s 7-5 record) normally, but our kids and our fans are pretty savvy.”
Cook is averaging 19 points per game, while giving up an average of 18 points. The Hornets are averaging 28.5 points in the playoffs, while allowing 17.5.
Tonight, they will take on arguably the premier program in AA. Since moving up from A to AA in 2002, Buford has a record of 108-5, and owns state championships from 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2008.
This year, the Wolves are 11-1. Since losing to Lovett, 28-21, in their third game, they have won nine straight games. Last week, Buford defeated Jefferson, 30-22.
The Wolves are usually loaded with talent, and this year is no different. Buford has three Southeastern Conference commitments in running back/linebacker Jessel Curry (Auburn), 285-pound lineman Kolton Houston (Georgia) and 333-pound lineman Du’Von Millsap (South Carolina).
The only other time Cook and Buford have played, it was also in the state quarterfinals. The Wolves defeated the Hornets, 30-12, in the third round of the 2003 playoffs.
Local Sports
Cook Hornets head to Buford tonight
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VSU teams hosting summer camps
The national champion Valdosta State softball team will host two separate summer camps this summer, as well as weekly clinics throughout the summer.
The two summer camps will be held on June 11-13 and July 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camps will cost $100 each. -
David Dean Youth Camp begins next week
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was rewarded with a new Toyota Tacoma from Valdosta Toyota on Wednesday for his team’s 4-1 victory over the University of California-San Diego in the Division II Softball National Championship Game.
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Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
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All-American again
Go ahead and add another award to resume of this year’s Valdosta State softball team.
Between conference player of the week awards, a national player of the week award, All-Conference and All-Region honors and four All-American awards, the national champion Blazers had plenty of individuals honored for performances throughout the season, which ultimately led to VSU’s first ever softball national title. -
Local area events coming soon
Several local area runs will take place in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 28, there will be a Memorial Day 5K, which will begin at 8 a.m. from the VECA School located on the corner of Azalea Drive and College Street. -
Tech bound
Donjahae Jones gets it done in the classroom and on the track.
One of the top students in her class, and one of the top track and field competitors in the state, Jones will be taking her talents to the Division I level after she signed a track and field scholarship with Georgia Tech on Tuesday. -
Blazers garner All-Region honors
Two Valdosta State baseball players have been named All-South Region while a third has garnered Academic All-Region, according to announcements made by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the Collegiate Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) this week.
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Lowndes' Phelps named tennis Coach of the Year
Lowndes tennis coach Heath Phelps has been named the Region 1-AAAAA girls’ and boys’ tennis Coach of the Year, after he guided both teams to region championships.
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Wildcats close spring practice
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats put their finishing touches on spring practice Saturday night with the playing of their annual spring game at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
No score was kept in the game, but the Wildcats did play best-on-best, pitting the starting offense against the starting defense. - More Local Sports Headlines
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VSU teams hosting summer camps
